ZF plans to invest EUR 200 mn in India

Mumbai: German automotive parts maker ZF plans to invest around EUR200 million and strategically consolidate its business to drive growth over the next decade as it looks to double down its focus on India, the company said on Tuesday.

It also said a refresh India strategy, which revolves around four key areas readapt, reinforce, retain and restructure and supports the strategic repositioning of the ZF brand identity in the country, will aid its growth plans.

A global leader in driveline and chasis technology, among others, ZF has been in India for more than five decades, operating through eight entities, two wholly-owned subsidiaries, five JV partners, along with 14 manufacturing locations as well as a technology centre in Hyderabad.

The company last year announced the successful completion of the Wabco acquisition. Wabco is a global supplier of primarily pneumatic braking control systems, technologies and services. Besides, it also supplies fleet operators with fleet management solutions and diagnostic tools among other services. "ZF is doubling down its focus in India through a significant investment of around EUR 200 million and strategic consolidation of its business domains with renewed impetus to drive growth over the next decade," the company said in a release. "Despite the current severe situation regarding Covid-19 in India, the ZF Group strongly believes in the long-term growth potential of the region. Therefore, we are launching a refresh India four-point strategy," said Holger Klein, ZF Member of the Board responsible for Asia Pacific and India, at ZF. This includes an intensive plan to rapidly grow the company's business in one of the largest automotive markets in the world, he added. "We plan to invest around EUR 200 million in the next few years to aid this growth through product launches, manufacturing and engineering footprint expansions, hiring and other developments across all business domains," he said.